Mayor, residents say money is needed to help catch attacker in musician’s slaying

The Temecula City Council next week is expected to consider creating a $25,000 reward fund to help find the person or people who tied up and fatally attacked a Fallbrook musician during the robbery of an Old Town music store.

The musician, Edward “Larry” Robinson, 64, died the day after the March 22 attack inside Pete’s Music & Guitar Shop on Old Town Front Street.

Mayor Mike Naggar said this week that he asked for the reward fund to be placed on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting after discussing the matter with the Police Department.

“They didn’t see a downside,” he said.

Last week, a group of speakers urged the council to offer a reward, saying that even a relatively small amount such as $10,000 could help uncover new clues. The council addressed those comments late in the evening during its March 9 meeting and left open the possibility of offering a reward, saying they were getting updates from investigators and monitoring the situation.

Naggar said Wednesday that it’s the right time to move forward.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Naggar said members of the council had expressed interest in offering a reward, but that it had been a bit premature.

“The Police Department was diligently working every angle,” he said.

Pete Surowski, owner of Pete’s Music, said Thursday that he also doesn’t see a downside to offering a reward, and he thinks creating a fund is a good idea.

“Maybe these criminals have a friend that’s not a ‘friend,’” he said.

Shortly after Robinson’s death, Surowski set up a memorial fund for the family on
GiveForward.com. That fund has amassed more than $8,000 in donations to date.

Linda McDonald, one of the Temecula residents who called last week for the city to offer a reward, said Thursday that the city’s action, if approved, will be “better late than never.”

“I’m very happy if that’s what they’re doing,” she said, adding that she felt the city should have acted sooner to help the Police Department develop leads.

According to a report for the council, the “Larry Robinson Murder Reward Fund” would be set up and maintained by the city’s director of finance.

It would start with $25,000 in city funds and could be increased via donations from the public.

If no person has been arrested or charged with causing Robinson’s death by March 22, 2018, all money in the fund will be returned to donors, with interest.

The money will be held in the Larry Robinson Murder Reward Fund or paid out once the perpetrator or perpetrators are convicted, the report states.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call investigators at (951) 955-2777 or (951) 696-3000.